Thursday, February 28, 2013

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

Q: Confess your blogger sins! Is there anything as a newbie blogger that you've done, that as you gained more experience you were like -- oops?

Um, not too much, actually. I know when I started, I wasn't sourcing the photos I was using (oops) so I was lucky I never used any hot-button ones that got me into trouble. Beyond that, I'm sure I was naive in the way I was writing and talking to people, but that's about it. No massive regrets, thankfully. :D

Brave Movie Review

So I finally watched Brave! I've been wanting to see this since it came out in theaters, but it was one I just kept missing or not getting around to. My sister even rented it from Redbox when it first came there, but the copy we got was scratched and wouldn't play. :( So, we finally tried again and this time it worked!

And I gotta say: I LOVED this film! It was so great!

Princess Merida, voiced by the fabulous Kelly Macdonald, of the fiery orange locks, has a spirit to match her hair and hates being made to be proper. When her parents tell her she must marry, and she has only the sons of the three powerful nobles to choose from (let's just say none of them are exactly swoon-worthy) she sets off to forge her own path of destiny.

While this has practically no romance in it, it's a great mother-daughter relations kind of show, and you don't get a stronger heroine/role model for tween girls than Merida. While of course Merida ought to have the right to choose whom she marries, she's, shall we say, less than sensitive about her family's position of power. Because of her "selfishness," disaster ensues. I really liked that, when she finally learned true sacrifice, and was willing to do it, even though it was hard and meant unhappiness for her, that was the moment when things changed and that sacrifice was no longer required of her. That happens so often in life and I was so pleased to see it depicted in a Pixar film.

Now, let's talk about the hilarity, shall we? There are two bears in this film. The first, near the beginning, is mean, fierce, and all kinds of man-flesh-happy. We don't like him. The second one is much more entertaining. I'm not going to tell you who the bear is, as it's a key part of the plot, but let's just say it might be a person in bear form. So we have a grizzly that can't talk, but makes human hand (paw) motions and expressions. So funny!

Then there's the king. Voiced by the perfectly chosen Billy Connolly, he's a large man who loves his food, his family, and his fights. And he's such a guy's guy. Pretty much everything he said, I feel over laughing. His expressions were really funny too.

I won't say much about the witch in the woods Merida meets, except that I liked her a lot. A combination of the cliche and the refreshing, I found her both funny and intriguing.

Probably my favorite part of the film was Merida's three younger brothers. They had the same fiery red hair as she does, but their little trouble-making, half-pint triplets that run around stealing cakes, tying people's shoe laces together, and just wreaking havoc in general. They were so adorable and so funny, you just couldn't be mad at them, even though they caused a lot of trouble.

In short, if you want a fun adventure with lots of laughs, a strong heroine, and some surprisingly deep and refreshing life lessons, Brave is the film for you!

Thoughts for Thursday--Einstein

Thoughts for Thursday is a new meme hosted by Musings on Fantasia and LKHill.In this meme, we share thoughts or quotes that we know or have recently come across. Each week there is a specific subject or theme. These can be quotes from books, quotes by famous people, (quotes by YOU, perhaps ;D). Anything from anywhere is game, though we do ask that you keep your quote to a few sentences at most. Don't quote, for example, entire passages of a book or essay. These can be funny quips, cool sayings, hair-raising antidotes, movie lines, any kind of quote you can think of!

Just have fun, collect awesome sayings by awesome people, and try to be inspired!Today's subject is quotes by Albert Einstein! Now this guy was a genius, not just at physics but at life. Usually I go through quotes on a certain subject and find my favorite. Often, I'm even hard pressed to find enough for the post. Not so with my buddy Alby. Everything he ever said was deep! I didn't use all the quotes I wanted, because the post would have gone on and on, but even these barely scratch the surface. I have different ones at Musings on Fantasia.

"If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales."

"Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new."

"Creativity is knowing how to hide your sources."

"Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind...All religions, arts, and sciences are branches of the same tree."

"When you are courting a nice girl and hour seems like a second. When you sit on a red-hot cinder a second seems like an hour. That's relativity."

"Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world."

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Let me apologize once again for my lack of posts, lately. I had car troubles getting home so got back even later than I expected, but I'm here now and things should get back to normal, soon. I do have some catch-up to do, so if you've been trying to get a hold of me and I haven't answered, please try again. I promise I'll answer this time. :D

Monday, February 25, 2013

Happy Monday, Everyone! I am still out of town but should be home late tonight (Monday). I spent a couple extra days in Modesto to be by my grandmother's bedside when she passed away. She was always such a huge supporter of my writing and told me how proud she was before she passed. I love her so much and plan to dedicate my next book to her.

Regular blogging will resume later this week. For today, here are the blog tour stops:

Saturday, February 23, 2013

Sorry for the lack of post today. I unexpectedly had to go out of town for a family emergency, but should be back on track by tomorrow. I hope everyone has a great and safe weekend. **Cherish your loved ones. You never know how quickly things can change.**

Friday, February 22, 2013

No Follow Friday for me today as I'm out of town with limited internet access. That means I won't be hopping/commenting much either. Everyone have a fun Friday and a wonderful weekend! Cheers!Lots of Blog Tour Stop Stuff going on today! Make sure to check out the reviews and my guest post on villains and cover images!1) Review at The Cosy Dragon2) Guest Post and Review at Shhh...Not While I'm Reading3) Review at Beth Art From the Heart

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Today's Blog Tour Stop is a Guest Post on my deviation from contemporary New Adult at Take Me Away. What do you think of it?

Thoughts for Thursday

Thoughts for Thursday is a new meme hosted by Musings on Fantasia and LKHill.In this meme, we share thoughts or quotes that we know or have recently come across. Each week there is a specific subject or theme. These can be quotes from books, quotes by famous people, (quotes by YOU, perhaps ;D). Anything from anywhere is game, though we do ask that you keep your quote to a few sentences at most. Don't quote, for example, entire passages of a book or essay. These can be funny quips, cool sayings, hair-raising antidotes, movie lines, any kind of quote you can think of!

Just have fun, collect awesome sayings by awesome people, and try to be inspired!This week's theme is Dreams and Nightmares!!

"War is eternity jammed into frantic minutes that will fill a lifetime with dreams and nightmares."--John Cory

"You have to know who you are. If you don't, you have nightmares."--Stephen Rea

"Nightmares are releases."--Sylvia Browne

"I still get nightmares. In fact, I get them so often I should be used to them by now. I'm not. No one ever really gets used to nightmares."--Mark Z. Danielewski, House of Leaves

"Even if she be not harmed, her heart may fail her in so much and so many horrors; and hereafter she may suffer--both in waking, from her nerves, and in sleep, from her dreams."--Bram Stoker, Dracula

"You never know. Maybe when we're dreaming...we're more lucid than when we are awake."--Katherine Angela Yeboah

What do you think? Which is your favorite quote? Do you have another to contribute?

So it was Valentine's Day, 2013. My family has developed a bit of a tradition that, on this day, anyone who doesn't have any special plans or doesn't currently have a special someone just all go out together to see a movie. We'd planned to see Beautiful Creatures, and even my dad said he wouldn't mind a chick flick.

Then I realized that A Good Day to Die Hard was out. As my dad was coming and a big Die Hard fan, I kind of thought we should see that instead. Furthermore, my sister and I could go see the romantic YA flick anytime, and chances were the romance one would be more packed than the action one on Valentines. We got down to the wire and still hadn't decided, but it ended up being the timeline that decided for us. By the time we all got our ducks in a row and got to the theater, Beautiful Creatures had already started, so Die Hard it was. There was a good smattering of people in the auditorium, but it was by no means crowded, which was nice.

A Good Day to Die Hard was great! It was everything we've come to expect from a Bruce Willis action flick. It had action (obviously), humor, plentiful color metaphors, violence, but also some good, old-fashioned loyalty-to-family-is-most-important-thing-ever moments, and let's face it, the bald guy always wins! So, in short, I loved it!

I laughed a lot. Now, anyone who knows me or has read my writing knows that I don't curse much in real life, except perhaps in jest and then not with much vulgarity, and I write little if any cussing into my writing. Despite all that, there's just something about it when Bruce Willis curses that tickles the funny bone. It's hysterical.

Warning! This film is rated R and for good reason. There are plenty of yippee-kie-yie-yah-esque lines, if you get my drift, so the language is a bit over the top, and there was also more gore than I expected. Granted, the last Die Hard movie was only rated PG-13, so maybe I should have expected more guts, but let's just say there will never be a graceful sword form entitled Man dives head first into helicopter propeller. Trust me on that.

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Other than that, the film was very enjoyable. I have to say that I thought the plot of Live Free or Die Hard was a bit better than this movie's was, but it was still pretty dang good. (What can I say? Timothy Oliphant always makes a movie better. :D) Bruce Willis's "son" looked absolutely nothing like him. In fact, I thought the guy looked more Russian than American, which was weird because the story took place in Moscow. And of course there was plenty of getting stabbed or going through glass windows, then jumping right back up to fight twenty more bad guys with automatic weapons.

Good times.

In short, if you enjoy Die Hard films, Bruce Willis films, or funny actions films of any kind, you'll like A Good Day to Die Hard. If not, it may not be for you. Personally, I thought it was an enjoyable way to spend Single's Appreciation Day, but that's just me.

Monday, February 18, 2013

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read• Open to a random page• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page• BE CAREFULNOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Buck squinted, smiling in confusion, but then he realized almost 15,000 people were staring at him and screaming. Horror. He strained out his best grin, looking back and forth to no avail. The spotlight blinded him. What was going on? How long would they torture him with this fierce glare? Mot it along,a lready. yeah, fat guy in teh audience here--fat enough to be a blong sumo wrestler. Fine. Pick on Someone else now."You need to stand up, Buck. Go towrad the ring."Go to ward the light was more like it. Death had hit him swiftly and much more painfully than he'd ever imagined.

Random Movie Quotes (RMQ)

Last week's RMQ was: "I do not much speak of the heart since it is seldom helpful to do so."

This was said by Maggie Smith in last week's Downton Abbey. She plays the Dowager Countess of Grantham. Totally love her in this series! She always makes me laugh. No one guessed this one.

Today's RMQ is:

"This work we perform...it does not serve to look backward. This city; wickedness will ever leave it's spores here. You and I are not magicians. We cannot see through walls or into men's minds...We fight with all the skills we may muster. Beyond that, we may do no more."

Okay, this is another TV quote from an episode two weeks past. What can I say? It was a profound quote week for television. One point for show, one for character, one for actor. Good luck!

Do you know...How much of the legend of Spartacus is fact? Quite a lot of it, actually, though the details are often filled in. I saw the old Kirk Douglas movie, Spartacus, years ago. I remember liking it a lot, but now I only remember a few key parts. I'm hazy on the details.I have a brother who's really into body building, so naturally he LOVES the Starzz series. I haven't watched it on TV but he bought the seasons on DVD and I borrowed them. While the stories are really good, I feel I should warn anyone thinking about watching them that they are R-Rated in the EXTREME! Lots of nudity, cursing, and gore. Just warning you.So I started researching the truth behind the Spartacus legend. There's less to tell than you might think.

Spartacus either was a Roman soldier or was captured by them. Eventually he became a gladiator, which is the time of his life most people focus on. In actuality, he had quite a bit of adventure even before that. 'Florus (2.8.8) described him as one "who from Thracian mercenary, had become a Roman soldier, of a soldier a deserter and robber, and afterward, from consideration of his strength, a gladiator".' Source. That description actually sounds more like the film Gladiator, starring Russel Crowe. I can't help but wonder if Ridley Scott took some inspiration from the Spartacus story himself.Once in the gladiator school, Spartacus and many of his fellow trainees broke free and started a war. The historical record leaves Spartacus' motives hazy. Was he fighting to abolish slavery? Reform Roman society? It doesn't appear so. Really, he was probably just fighting for his own freedom. Despite the romantic element in most Spartacus re-tellings, there is no mention in the historical record of any wife or woman he might have been fighting for or trying to avenge.

The official record says that he died in the final battle of the Third Servile War, though many say his body was never found. Of course, his story has been told and re-told, inspiring everyone from the average Joe to the highest political thinkers.This is one of those vague but stubborn, hanger-on legends like Robin Hood or King Arthur. It's also a good example of our society's historical fiction. It gets told, changed and re-told. With each telling it evolves. Not necessarily a good or bad thing, but interesting to track.What do you think? Why do legends of this kind survive so tenaciously? Do you think it's a good thing that we change them and add things that aren't present in the historical record? What does it say about our society or historical fiction in general? How do YOU think Spartacus really died?Remember, knowledge of our past is our inheritance. What we do with that knowledge will shape our destinies.Happy Presidents Day Everyone! :D

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Short and sweet today. No Wheel of Time Read-Along this week because we're taking a week off in between books so everyone can get a copy of The Great Hunt and get their ducks in a row. We're beginning the read this week, though, so I'll have more read-along posts starting next Sunday.

Today's Blog Tour Stop is a Character Interview with Doc over at Rally the Readers. Hop on over and see what you make of it. Do you like Doc's character? What do you think of his answers?

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Happy Saturday, Everyone! Here in Utah, we're experiencing the 3rd straight day of sunshine and relatively warm weather. And by warm, I mean a few degrees above freezing. But that's better than we've had since October. Yea!My sisters and I plan to go running today. They're training for a marathon. Me, not so much. I'm just trying to get myself into better shape, so I won't be running as far as they will, but still.I also plan to get a chapter written this weekend to send to my critique group. Plus I'd like to get all my blog tour stops written for the final week in February (I'm a week ahead) and write all my regular blog posts for the coming week. If I can also schedule all my Facebook posts for the week, I'll be all kinds of on-the-ball! Wish me luck!Today's blog tour stop is a Review and Interview on Book Club Sisters. Pop on over and see what you think. Other than that, have an awesome weekend!

Follow Friday

Gain new followers and make new friends with the Book Blogger Feature & Follow! If this is your first time here, welcome! You are about to make some new friends and gain new followers -- but you have to know -- the point of this hop is to follow other bloggers also. I follow you, you follow me.

The Feature & Follow is hosted by TWO hosts, Parajunkee of Parajunkee's View and Alison of Alison Can Read. Each host will have their own Feature Blog and this way it'll allow us to show off more new blogs!

How does this work? First you leave your name here on this post, (using the linky tools -- keep scrolling!) then you create a post on your own blog that links back to this post (easiest way is to just grab the code under the #FF picture and put it in your post) and then you visit as many blogs as you can and tell them "hi" in their comments (on the post that has the #FF image). You follow them, they follow you. Win. Win. Just make sure to follow back if someone follows you!

Q: Write a letter to your favorite character. Rant, rave or gush…just pretend like they are real and you just want to let them know a "few things". - Activity courtesy of author, Kelly Walker

Dear Daisy Buchanan and Anna Karenina,

I know you're decades and countries apart, but you have something in common. You are the kind of women that make all women look bad. Stop it! Would you please cowgirl up, make a decision, and abide by it? Those of us trying to do good things for our gender would really appreciate it.

Today's Blog Tour Stop is Valentine's Day Guest Post on the Elements of Romance in my Book at The YA Bookworm Blogger

Let me know what you think!

Thoughts for Thursday--Love

123rf.com

Thoughts for Thursday is a new meme hosted by Musings on Fantasia and LKHill.In this meme, we share thoughts or quotes that we know or have recently come across. Each week there is a specific subject or theme. These can be quotes from books, quotes by famous people, (quotes by YOU, perhaps ;D). Anything from anywhere is game, though we do ask that you keep your quote to a few sentences at most. Don't quote, for example, entire passages of a book or essay. These can be funny quips, cool sayings, hair-raising antidotes, movie lines, any kind of quote you can think of!

Just have fun, collect awesome sayings by awesome people, and try to be inspired!This is the week of Valentine's Day and you knew at some point was going to go all sentimental on you for the theme. What can I say? It's not easy being cheesy! This week's theme is Love!

"Affection is responsible for nine-tenths of whatever solid and durable happiness there is in our lives."--C.S. Lewis

"I have found the paradox, that if you love until it hurts, there can be no more hurt, only more love."--Mother Teresa

"Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up."--Unknown

"Beginning are usually scary and endings are usually sad, but it's everything in between that makes it all worth living."--Unknown

"Woe to the man whose heart has not learned while young to hope, to love--and put his trust in life!"--Joseph Conrad

According to Greek mythology, humans were originally created with 4 arms and 4 legs and a head with 2 faces. Fearing their power, Zeus split them into two separate parts, condemning them to spend their lives in search of their other halves.

What do you think? Which quote is your favorite? Do you have one to add?

Anyway, my post today is a re-post. I wrote it for a blog tour stop very recently when I guest posted on Alex Cavanaugh's website. I have to give Alex some of the credit for it. Yes, I wrote it, but he has very specific guidelines for guest posting on his blog, including the minor detail that "Snark is a must." If it hadn't been for that, I never would have come up with this post. (Incidentally, I didn't stay within his 300-word limit parameter, but at least I was snarky, right Alex?)

Anyway, I got a great response for this post, so I thought I'd share it with my own audience. I know lots of you are following the blog tour, but I don't delude myself that you click super-fast over to each and every tour stop while wiping the drool away. So, if you missed it, here's my post.

A few
months ago I saw the amazing film Skyfall. May be the best Bond film I’ve ever
seen (not that I’ve seen a lot of the older films). There’s a scene in the film
where Bond chases Silva (Javier Bardem’s excellent villain), leaping over heavy
machinery, sprinting across rooftops and lots of other Bond-y stuff. Eventually
they run through the subway. At that point, Bond loses sight Silva. Until he
glances to his left. Silva has left a door open, though which Bond follows. It
made me smile. I mean, a guy as smart and determined as Silva just happens to
leave a door open behind him? Maybe it’s just the innate idiocy of villains,
but it got me thinking about attributes of action movie villains. They actually aren't that hard to pick out of a crowd.

2.Just when it looks like you might win, you do
something hair-brained like forgetting to shut the door behind you or not
figuring out who the true owner of the Elder wand is. I mean, if you’re going
to be villainous, shouldn't you at least try to pull Cs in problem-solving
class?

3.You believe things that have happened to you in
the past are awesome excuses for murder, rape, plunder, and all-around world
domination. Let’s face it: everyone’s got a sob story, but most people don’t
become douche bags. You, on the other hand…

4.You’re creepy. No really! Stop for a minute to
evaluate your own creep factor. Do you, for example, breathe really loudly
(hol-puh, hol-puh), sport a detachable jaw (like Silva), practice a smile
that’s insincere and just a bit too wide,
or have a habit of licking your fingers and smoothing down your eyebrow hairs?
If you are guilty of these or any similar quirks, I hate to break it to you my
friend but YOU…are creepy.

5.You have an overwhelming and inexplicable drive
to pit yourself against awesome, heroic guys (or gals). I mean seriously!
Anyone who honestly believes they can take on the likes of James Bond and win
must have repeated third grade at least twice. Tell me I’m wrong!

So, if you encapsulate one or all of the above traits, you
may be ideally suited to the (short and bitter) life of an action movie
villain. Support groups held every other Thursday at the WTF Rec Center in New
York. For more info, call 1-800-2BIFF-IT.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because they are particularly fond of lists at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week they will post a new Top Ten list that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.

Top Ten Favorite Romances

I don't know if this was supposed to be favorite romance novels or just favorite romances within a novel, but I went with the latter because I don't read genre romance. :D These are not sci-fi/fantasy. To see my sci-fi/fantasy picks, visit my other blog, Musings on Fantasia.

Disclaimer: Many of these are from books that are part of a series. There will be mild spoilers in this list for the novels represented. Consider yourselves warned! Carry on.10. Hamlet and Ophelia--had to throw it in, didn't I? Just so tragic and moving!

2. Lucy Manette and Sydney Carton of A Tale of Two Cities--This was a one-sided romance because Lucy fell in love with and married another, but Carton never stopped loving her. The love he held for her drove the tragic end of the novel. Okay, now I totally want to read this again!

Last time's RMQ was: "If the Witch knew the true meaning of sacrifice, she might have interpreted the deep magic differently. That when a willing victim who has committed no treachery, is killed in a traitor's stead, the stone table will crack, and even death itself would turn backwards." This was said by Aslan in The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. Megan Wille of Megz Madd Readz guessed this one. Great job, Megan! Today's RMQ is:

"I do not much speak of the heart since it is seldom helpful to do so."

Hint: This is from a TV show and this episode aired just this past week. One point for actor, one for character, and one for show title. Good luck! :D

This blog is dedicated to anything that moves me. I write about what's going on in the writing community, fiction, historical tidbits, story ideas, and more. I welcome questions, comments, and discussion!

About Me

I'm a novelist who writes across three genres: fantasy/sci-fi, historical fiction, and crime drama. I live in northern Utah and come from a large, tight-knit family. I love to bake, read, and watch plenty of T.V. And I plan to keep writing until they nail my coffin shut. Or the Second Coming happens. You know, whichever happens first. ;D